England & Wales Hardwicke Marriage Index
Marriages 1754 - 1837
Lydbury North St Michael

The Parish

The parish of Lydbury North lies in southwestern Shropshire not too far from the county's border with neighbouring Montgomeryshire and thus with Wales. Lydbury North is located a little over 2 miles southeast of the small market town of Bishop's Castle and sits on the B4385 road which connects Bishop's Castle though to Leintwardine in Herefordshire. Lydbury North is a small village with most properties either lining the B4385 or along lanes, most dead-ends, to its north. Lydbury North sits within hilly border country with a wide range of ancient edifices around, to the southwest lies Bury Ditches, one of the best preserved Iron Age hill forts in the land, whilst several banks and ditches testify to a troubled past with Welsh neighbours. The strongly undulating landscape produces two main two main types of pastoral farming, richer pastures in the valleys for cattle whilst the thinner and rougher pastures of higher ground carry sheep. The local stone was also quarried mainly for local building stone. Lydbury North is drained southwards by the River Kemp which soon meets the Clun and then to the Teme, the latter heads eastwards eventually joining the Severn and heading to the sea through the Bristol Channel. Lydbury North is sited at around 160 metres above the sea but steep slopes rise to both north (Oakeley Mynd 309 metres) and south (Bury Ditches 392 metres) in strongly undulating countryside. Lydbury North parish was extensive as upland parishes often are, covering 9,000 acres it would have supported a population of close to 900 parishioners. Whilst there is an entry for Lydbury North in Domesday Book it is a regional entry, a footnote reveals that Lydbury North was declared, itself, to be "waste", a term used here to describe undeveloped land.

The Church

St Michael's church sits at the heart of the village prominently sitting on the northern side of the B4385 as it passes through. The church is an unusual layout in being cruciform yet with a western tower rather than the central crossing tower that would have been normal for that layout. The cruciform layout is testament to its early origins in the 12th century and was a favourite Norman design. There is fabric remaining from the 12th century Norman Romanesque era but it is minimal, restricted to a pair of windows in the nave, some chancel windows and the priest's doorway. Based upon these pieces Pevsner assigns a tentative date of c1175-1180. The western tower was added in the 13th century when fashions had changed to favour a straight east to west layout, it is therefore Early English Gothic in style albeit heavily propped up by 17th century restoration. Both transepts seem to date from the turn of 13th into 14th century, the brief Transitional era, but have been heavily modified by Victorian and later work. Unusually for such churches there is no evidence of major change during the later medieval period with Decorated and Perpendicular styles notably missing, it was not until two phases of early 20th century restoration in 1902 & 1908 that major restoration occurred and thankfully it was sensitive to the original styles. The B4385 is of sufficient width to allow on verge parking outside the churchyard which is entered at the southwestern corner, apart from a few scattered trees, easily avoided, there are no major obstacles for the photographer.